Teaching 2030, a new book about the future of teaching and learning, is creating a lot of “buzz” in education circles and has garnered endorsements from individuals as diverse as conservative policy analyst Rick Hess, former education secretary Richard Riley, and teaching scholar Linda Darling-Hammond. Two of the book’s 12 teacher co-authors are educators with Alabama backgrounds. In an interview posted here Friday, Emily Vickery answered questions about the changes in K12 education she and her writing colleagues foresee over the next several decades. Today we’ve invited Talladega County teacher leader Jennifer Barnett to write her own post about one of the book’s “big ideas” – what she describes as the Age of the Teacherpreneur.


by Jennifer Barnett

My name is Jennifer Barnett and I am a teacherpreneur.

My teaching career began 20 years ago and almost immediately I found myself leading. I suppose one might have called me a teacher leader. Read More...

  Jennifer Barnett and Emily Vickery – two educators with strong Alabama roots – are among the 12 co-authors of a bold new book about the future of teaching and learning. Teaching 2030, published by Teachers College Press, is creating a lot of “buzz” in education circles and has been endorsed by individuals as diverse as conservative policy analyst Rick Hess, former education secretary Richard Riley, and teaching scholar Linda Darling-Hammond.

We’ve invited Jennifer and Emily to tell us more about the book and the changes in K12 education they and their colleagues foresee over the next several decades. We begin with some conversation with Emily. In a follow-up post tomorrow, Jennifer will tie her own experiences as a teacher leader in Talladega County to Teaching 2030’s vision of “teacherpreneurship.”

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Emily Vickery is a veteran educator who taught at Carver Senior High School and Montgomery Academy in Montgomery, served on the Alabama Governor’s Council on Education Technology, and represented the state on a task force for the U.S. Department of Education. She has also worked as a consultant for the Education Commission of the States, Apple, Inc and other private clients. She currently serves as the 21st-century learning specialist at an innovative parochial school in Florida. Last January, she represented the U. S. State Department in Estonia, working with educators in the areas of multicultural education and teacher cultural competence.

How did you get involved in the Teaching 2030 book project?
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Recently I’ve tried to carve out a little more time to catch up on reading — an activity that always seems to re-energize me. As I dug down into my pile of books and articles, I came across some wise words about the importance of personal and professional reflection. Here are a few of my take-aways: Read More...

Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way 

by Ronald Williamson and Barbara Blackburn
(Eye on Education, 2010)

Reviewed by Renee Moore, NBCT
Guest Blogger

“Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way” is a follow-up to Barbara Blackburn’s 2008 book, “Rigor is Not a Four-Letter Word” (see Karen Molter’s review here), and the books should be studied together. Both authors are former teachers (Williamson is also a former principal) whose educational careers extend from classroom teachers to respected university researchers.

While Blackburn’s first book was aimed at teachers, this book shows school leaders how to navigate an entire school toward a more rigorous culture and ...
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By Cathy Gassenheimer

I attended a wonderful and eclectic wedding this weekend. The invitation and the ceremony were nontraditional, tailored by the bride and groom to make their day special. This morning I was reflecting on the wedding and showing some colleagues the invitation and program. As I did so, I began to see some parallels to the teaching profession. Read More...

By Cathy Gassenheimer

Teaching quality seems to be on everyone’s minds these days. A recent speech by Stanford economist Eric Hanushek raised the ante. He suggests “an investment in education, designed to improve and increase students’ skills, is the best and most effective strategy for stimulating the economic recovery.”

Hanushek argues that student achievement gains cannot be attributed to investments in “per-pupil expenditures, class size, pupil/teacher ratios, whether or not teachers have a master’s degree, years of experience, and teacher certification.”

So what CAN make a difference? Read More...

By Cathy Gassenheimer

Imagine educators having the opportunity to spend an entire day working with colleagues to discuss and clearly identify what effective teaching “looks like.” “Wait a minute,” I can almost hear you say, “Don’t educators already have a clear image of effective teaching?”

Apparently not, according to Tony Wagner and his colleagues at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.

“Achieving a shared vision of what is good instruction is much more difficult than most people imagine,” contends Wagner Read More...

By Sallie Owen Gowan

When education consultant Jackie A. Walsh, Ph.D, isn’t driving the work of the Alabama Governor’s Commission on Quality Teaching or delivering professional development for the Alabama Best Practices Center, she writes about effective questioning. Her latest effort is “Leading Through Quality Questioning” from Corwin Press, which Jackie co-authored with Beth D. Sattes.

“Questions are more transformative than answers,” according to author and community engagement evangelist Peter Block. With that in mind, Jackie and Beth have put together a practical, nuts-and-bolts book that explains not only why school leaders should work this way – but also how to do it.

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By Cathy Gassenheimer

I just finished reading a thought-provoking article in the February issue of Educational Leadership titled “Start Where Your Students Are,” by Robyn R. Jackson. She posits that to get all students to learn, teachers need to understand their “currency.” She defines currency as “any behavior that students use to acquire the knowledge and skills important to your class.” She gives examples such as students who want approval from the teacher tend to ...
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